Colon Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version
General Information About Colon Cancer
Cancer of the colon is a highly treatable and often curable disease when localized to the bowel. Surgery is the primary form of treatment and results in cure in approximately 50% of the patients. Recurrence following surgery is a major problem and is often the ultimate cause of death.
Incidence and Mortality
Estimated new cases and deaths from colon and rectal cancer in the United States in 2019:[1]
- New cases: 101,420 (colon cancer only).
- New cases of rectal cancer: 44,180.
- Deaths: 51,020 (colon and rectal cancers combined).
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors can occur in the colon. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treatment for more information.)
Anatomy
Risk Factors
Increasing age is the most important risk factor for most cancers. Other risk factors for colorectal cancer include the following:
- Family history of colorectal cancer in a first-degree relative.[2]
- Personal history of colorectal adenomas, colorectal cancer, or ovarian cancer.[3-5]
- Hereditary conditions, including familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer [HNPCC]).[6]
- Personal history of long-standing chronic ulcerative colitis or Crohn colitis.[7]
- Excessive alcohol use.[8]
- Cigarette smoking.[9]
- Race/ethnicity: African American.[10,11]
- Obesity.[12]
Screening
Because of the frequency of the disease, ability to identify high-risk groups, slow growth of primary lesions, better survival of patients with early-stage lesions, and relative simplicity and accuracy of screening tests, screening for colon cancer should be a part of routine care for all adults aged 50 years and older, especially for those with first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Colorectal Cancer Screening for more information.)
Prognostic Factors
The prognosis of patients with colon cancer is clearly related to the following:
- The degree of penetration of the tumor through the bowel wall.
- The presence or absence of nodal involvement.
- The presence or absence of distant metastases.
These three characteristics form the basis for all staging systems developed for this disease.
Other prognostic factors include the following:
Many other prognostic markers have been evaluated retrospectively for patients with colon cancer, though most, including allelic loss of chromosome 18q or thymidylate synthase expression, have not been prospectively validated.[15-24] Microsatellite instability, also associated with HNPCC, has been associated with improved survival independent of tumor stage in a population-based series of 607 patients younger than 50 years with colorectal cancer.[25] Patients with HNPCC reportedly have better prognoses in stage-stratified survival analysis than patients with sporadic colorectal cancer, but the retrospective nature of the studies and possibility of selection factors make this observation difficult to interpret.[26]
Treatment decisions depend on factors such as physician and patient preferences and the stage of the disease, rather than the age of the patient.[27-29]
Racial differences in overall survival (OS) after adjuvant therapy have been observed, without differences in disease-free survival, suggesting that comorbid conditions play a role in survival outcome in different patient populations.[30]
Follow-up and Survivorship
Limited data and no level 1 evidence are available to guide patients and physicians about surveillance and management of patients after surgical resection and adjuvant therapy. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend specific surveillance and follow-up strategies.[31,32]
Following treatment of colon cancer, periodic evaluations may lead to the earlier identification and management of recurrent disease.[33-36] The impact of such monitoring on overall mortality of patients with recurrent colon cancer, however, is limited by the relatively small proportion of patients in whom localized, potentially curable metastases are found. To date, no large-scale randomized trials have documented an OS benefit for standard, postoperative monitoring programs.[37-41]
CEA is a serum glycoprotein frequently used in the management of patients with colon cancer. A review of the use of this tumor marker suggests the following:[42]
- A CEA level is not a valuable screening test for colorectal cancer because of the large numbers of false-positive and false-negative reports.
- Postoperative CEA testing should be restricted to patients who would be candidates for resection of liver or lung metastases.
- Routine use of CEA levels alone for monitoring response to treatment should not be recommended.
Factors Associated with Recurrence
Diet and exercise
No prospective randomized trials have demonstrated an improvement in outcome with a specific diet or exercise regimen; however, cohort studies suggest that a diet or exercise regimen may improve outcome. The cohort studies contain multiple opportunities for unintended bias, and caution is needed when using the data from them.
Two prospective observational studies were performed with patients enrolled on the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB-89803 [NCT00003835] trial), which was an adjuvant chemotherapy trial for patients with stage III colon cancer.[43,44] In this trial, patients in the lowest quintile of the Western dietary pattern compared with those patients in the highest quintile experienced an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for disease-free survival of 3.25 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.04–5.19; P < .001) and an OS of 2.32 (95% CI, 1.36–3.96; P < .001). Additionally, findings included that stage III colon cancer patients in the highest quintile of dietary glycemic load experienced an adjusted HR for OS of 1.76 (95% CI, 1.22–2.54; P < .001) compared with those in the lowest quintile. Subsequently, in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, among 2,315 participants diagnosed with colorectal cancer, the degree of red and processed meat intake before diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of death (relative risk [RR], 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05–1.59; P = .03), but red meat consumption after diagnosis was not associated with overall mortality.[45][Level of evidence: 3iiA]
A meta-analysis of seven prospective cohort studies evaluating physical activity before and after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer demonstrated that patients who participated in any amount of physical activity before diagnosis had a RR of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.65–0.87; P < .001) for colorectal cancer-specific mortality compared with patients who did not participate in any physical activity.[46] Patients who participated in a high amount of physical activity (vs. a low amount) before diagnosis had a RR of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.56–0.87; P = .002). Patients who participated in any physical activity (compared with no activity) after diagnosis had a RR of 0.74 (95% CI, 0.58–0.95; P = .02) for colorectal cancer-specific mortality. Those who participated in a high amount of physical activity (vs. a low amount) after diagnosis had a RR of 0.65 (95% CI, 0.47–0.92; P = .01).[46][Level of evidence: 3iiB]
Aspirin
A prospective cohort study examined the use of aspirin after a colorectal cancer diagnosis.[47] Regular users of aspirin after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer experienced an HR of colon cancer-specific survival of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65–0.97) and an OS of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.65–0.97).[47][Level of evidence: 3iiA] One study evaluated 964 patients with rectal or colon cancer from the Nurse’s Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.[48] Among patients with PI3K-mutant colorectal cancer, regular use of aspirin was associated with an HR for OS of 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31–0.94; P = .01)[48][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]
Related Summaries
Other PDQ summaries containing information related to colon cancer include the following:
- Colorectal Cancer Prevention
- Colorectal Cancer Screening
- Genetics of Colorectal Cancer
- Unusual Cancers of Childhood Treatment (childhood cancer of the colon)
References
- American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2019. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, 2019. Available online. Last accessed January 23, 2019.
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- Singh H, Nugent Z, Demers A, et al.: Risk of colorectal cancer after diagnosis of endometrial cancer: a population-based study. J Clin Oncol 31 (16): 2010-5, 2013. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Srinivasan R, Yang YX, Rubin SC, et al.: Risk of colorectal cancer in women with a prior diagnosis of gynecologic malignancy. J Clin Gastroenterol 41 (3): 291-6, 2007. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Mork ME, You YN, Ying J, et al.: High Prevalence of Hereditary Cancer Syndromes in Adolescents and Young Adults With Colorectal Cancer. J Clin Oncol 33 (31): 3544-9, 2015. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Laukoetter MG, Mennigen R, Hannig CM, et al.: Intestinal cancer risk in Crohn's disease: a meta-analysis. J Gastrointest Surg 15 (4): 576-83, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Fedirko V, Tramacere I, Bagnardi V, et al.: Alcohol drinking and colorectal cancer risk: an overall and dose-response meta-analysis of published studies. Ann Oncol 22 (9): 1958-72, 2011. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Liang PS, Chen TY, Giovannucci E: Cigarette smoking and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Cancer 124 (10): 2406-15, 2009. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Laiyemo AO, Doubeni C, Pinsky PF, et al.: Race and colorectal cancer disparities: health-care utilization vs different cancer susceptibilities. J Natl Cancer Inst 102 (8): 538-46, 2010. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Lansdorp-Vogelaar I, Kuntz KM, Knudsen AB, et al.: Contribution of screening and survival differences to racial disparities in colorectal cancer rates. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 21 (5): 728-36, 2012. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Ma Y, Yang Y, Wang F, et al.: Obesity and risk of colorectal cancer: a systematic review of prospective studies. PLoS One 8 (1): e53916, 2013. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Steinberg SM, Barkin JS, Kaplan RS, et al.: Prognostic indicators of colon tumors. The Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group experience. Cancer 57 (9): 1866-70, 1986. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Filella X, Molina R, Grau JJ, et al.: Prognostic value of CA 19.9 levels in colorectal cancer. Ann Surg 216 (1): 55-9, 1992. [PUBMED Abstract]
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- Jen J, Kim H, Piantadosi S, et al.: Allelic loss of chromosome 18q and prognosis in colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med 331 (4): 213-21, 1994. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Lanza G, Matteuzzi M, Gafá R, et al.: Chromosome 18q allelic loss and prognosis in stage II and III colon cancer. Int J Cancer 79 (4): 390-5, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Griffin MR, Bergstralh EJ, Coffey RJ, et al.: Predictors of survival after curative resection of carcinoma of the colon and rectum. Cancer 60 (9): 2318-24, 1987. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Johnston PG, Fisher ER, Rockette HE, et al.: The role of thymidylate synthase expression in prognosis and outcome of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with rectal cancer. J Clin Oncol 12 (12): 2640-7, 1994. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Shibata D, Reale MA, Lavin P, et al.: The DCC protein and prognosis in colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med 335 (23): 1727-32, 1996. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Bauer KD, Lincoln ST, Vera-Roman JM, et al.: Prognostic implications of proliferative activity and DNA aneuploidy in colonic adenocarcinomas. Lab Invest 57 (3): 329-35, 1987. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Bauer KD, Bagwell CB, Giaretti W, et al.: Consensus review of the clinical utility of DNA flow cytometry in colorectal cancer. Cytometry 14 (5): 486-91, 1993. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Sun XF, Carstensen JM, Zhang H, et al.: Prognostic significance of cytoplasmic p53 oncoprotein in colorectal adenocarcinoma. Lancet 340 (8832): 1369-73, 1992. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Roth JA: p53 prognostication: paradigm or paradox? Clin Cancer Res 5 (11): 3345, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Gryfe R, Kim H, Hsieh ET, et al.: Tumor microsatellite instability and clinical outcome in young patients with colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med 342 (2): 69-77, 2000. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Watson P, Lin KM, Rodriguez-Bigas MA, et al.: Colorectal carcinoma survival among hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma family members. Cancer 83 (2): 259-66, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Iwashyna TJ, Lamont EB: Effectiveness of adjuvant fluorouracil in clinical practice: a population-based cohort study of elderly patients with stage III colon cancer. J Clin Oncol 20 (19): 3992-8, 2002. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Chiara S, Nobile MT, Vincenti M, et al.: Advanced colorectal cancer in the elderly: results of consecutive trials with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 42 (4): 336-40, 1998. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Popescu RA, Norman A, Ross PJ, et al.: Adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy for colorectal cancer in patients 70 years or older. J Clin Oncol 17 (8): 2412-8, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Dignam JJ, Colangelo L, Tian W, et al.: Outcomes among African-Americans and Caucasians in colon cancer adjuvant therapy trials: findings from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project. J Natl Cancer Inst 91 (22): 1933-40, 1999. [PUBMED Abstract]
- Meyerhardt JA, Mangu PB, Flynn PJ, et al.: Follow-up care, surveillance protocol, and secondary prevention measures for survivors of colorectal cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical practice guideline endorsement. J Clin Oncol 31 (35): 4465-70, 2013. [PUBMED Abstract]
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- Moertel CG, Fleming TR, Macdonald JS, et al.: An evaluation of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test for monitoring patients with resected colon cancer. JAMA 270 (8): 943-7, 1993. [PUBMED Abstract]
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Cellular Classification of Colon Cancer
Histologic types of colon cancer include the following:
- Adenocarcinoma (most colon cancers).
- Mucinous (colloid) adenocarcinoma.
- Signet ring adenocarcinoma.
- Scirrhous tumors.
- Neuroendocrine.[1] Tumors with neuroendocrine differentiation typically have a poorer prognosis than pure adenocarcinoma variants.
References
- Saclarides TJ, Szeluga D, Staren ED: Neuroendocrine cancers of the colon and rectum. Results of a ten-year experience. Dis Colon Rectum 37 (7): 635-42, 1994. [PUBMED Abstract]
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